Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness!

Original image located here. Accessed 22nd July 2022

I have been following a lot of criticisms about the current phase (no.4) of the MCU. Chief among them is that the movies of this phase seem to lack a sense of direction and, after such a pay-off (Endgame) from years of build-up, there is nowhere left to go.
Personally I did enjoy the Eternals and Spiderman: No Way Home but even I will admit that the criticisms of being directionless are hard to ignore. After all, when you climb the mountain and find nowhere left to go, what do you do?

That being said, I did find this latest instalment to the MCU something of mixed bag. On one hand, there is so much continuity to cater for that the movie seems to groaning under it's own weight. Also, there is a lot going on here that the pacing seems to go at light speed and is therefore difficult to pick up. In addition, this isn't quite the horror movie I was expecting.
But that's for the first half: Maybe it's just me but once the second half kicks in, this movie remembers it's a Doctor Strange movie and plays into it's strengths: The creative & striking visuals and Benedict Cumberpatch. It's great to see Benedict playing different iterations of this character and some truly impressive visuals (the staircase immediately comes to mind). And I also must give credit to director Sam Raimi who is able to make his own stamp - especially when doing so isn't an easy task in the MCU.
So yeah, not a bad effort but the problem of 'where do we go from here' still persists....

Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time!

Original image located here. Accessed 28th January 2022

IV - Rebuild
I can't recall the last time I sat down and watched Evangelion - clearly End of Evangelion left a bad taste in the mouth. But what i do know is that I spent a fair chunk of my twenties and thirties sorting myself out and overcoming the demon that is self-loathing - and much like Shinji it was down through a lot of self-analysis. Of course, the only difference is when i overcame my self-loathing I didn't get a round of applause accompanied by "Congratulations!" (would've liked to though).

 So when i found out a new Evangelion reboot, Rebuild, came about it was a case of "You Again"
Which now brings us here: Facing down the fourth and final movie in this rebuild, therefore the endpoint of this journey taken over this pat month - and also the endpoint of a longer journey that started back in late 1998.

Firstly this movie is long, at two and half hours. Granted this nothing new for movies in general but to see an animated film at such a length is indeed an anomaly. With such a length it wouldn't be that much a of a stretch to draw comparisons to Avengers Endgame. So can this movie pull off the same trick?

Well...kinda.....

A number of things of note: I like the quiet moments - that may sound odd but thy work. And considering that Evangelion has a reputation for bombast when it decides to be quiet it does so superbly.
I like the revelation of Gendo's history. It has indeed been along time coming - and who would've guessed that one of fictions most reviled characters could command empathy?
And I I like that this is effectively the big farewell that Anno wanted: There are indeed surprises throughout and we finally FINALLY get to see Shinji grow up and take control of his life. And yes, I do feel happy for him.
Of course, there are a lot of things that don't work: The action is fast and aggressive to the point of being difficult to keep up, certain characters are sidelined and, once again, the mysteries of Evangelion are never resolved to the point of aggressive.
Still, this movie does what it set out to do: Conclude Evangelion as a franchise for good so I give it that much. Furthermore, I will forever maintain that End of Evangelion was Anno urging us the audience to move on. And here i do believe he is saying the same thing - just in a far less passive-aggressive manner.

Well this month-long odyssey has now come to an end and what a heavy one it has been. So next week, i think I'll watch something a bit more fun.
And that s a guarantee.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings!

Original image located here. Accessed 5th November 2021

The MCU tries it's hand at making a Kung-Fu movie. Well, why not? It's tried a whole lot of other genres so in a way this was inevitable.
Okay seriously though, there's nothing wrong with that its just that I've seen many a kung-fu movie in my time and when Marvel do it, i want only for them not to do shoddy job.

Thankfully Marvel don't do a shoddy job: The action sequences are very well done and are, at times, jaw dropping. Indeed there is a sense that this a kung-fu movie being made with a larger budget - when compared to some Hong Kong flicks I have seen in my time - and they are going to milk it for all that it's worth.
Simu Liu is great, Michelle Yeoh is always fantastic, Benedict Wong is having fun, but personally, the real MVP is Awkwafina who is a delight to watch and steals every scene she's in. So if this film was made for more Asian representation on the silver screen, then all I can say is: More please!
Funny thing however: One gets the sense that with this film, as well as the upcoming Eternals movie (if the trailer is anything to go by), is bringing the MCU to a more grandiose direction than ever before. It may seem a strange movie - considering that Phase one was a very grounded one - but when Endgame makes so much money one can do whatever they want.

Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker!

Original image located here. Accessed 3rd January 2020

It would appear that assessing a Star Wars movie carries a degree of risk: It may be enjoyable in the moment but take a step back and you realize 'Hey, wait a minute...". Indeed it would appear that the Phantom Menace has a lot to answer for.

If I could describe this movie in a single word it would be breakneck: Everything is moving so quickly that it is difficult to keep up. Sure there's some great action pieces and some interesting character moments but I can't help but think if this movie would've benefited from being two movies. Or being a three hour epic. Like Avengers Endgame.

Speaking of which, the plan of this movie wrapping up all eight movies preceding does indeed draw similarities to Endgame. But whereas Endgame showed how to properly wrap up a movie serial, Rise of Skywalker seemed limp by comparison. I mean it was all right and, being the geek that I am, i did pick up various nods to the other movies scattered throughout, but this is not quite the 'sticking the landing' this movie was supposed to be.

This may sound kind of strange but I'm drawing a comparison with this movie to Close Encounters of the Third Kind. You see, the latter, i thought the movie was unremarkable UNTIL to awe-inspiring final quarter that completely vindicated the preceding three quarters. And that's the same vibe I'm getting with Rise of Skywalker: The last quarter was superb but somehow the journey there seemed somewhat underwhelming.

So in conclusion, I did gleam some enjoyment of this movie and I did pick up numerous nods to fans, but, much like a lot of the Disney-helmed Star Wars, the thought of what could've been is indeed a lingering one.

Spiderman: Far From Home

And this week's Friday night movie has been....Spiderman Far From Home!

Original image located here. Accessed 12th July 2019

It must be a challenge to make a Spiderman movie. Because, in my mind, there are two things that make it so: a) Meeting the standard set by the Sam Raimi Spiderman movies (well maybe not 3) and b) once you get past that you still need to face the fact that the greatest Spiderman movie has been made in the form of Into the Spiderverse. So what can Far From Home do besides picking up the gauntlet?

To me what made Homecoming and the aforementioned Spiderverse succeed was that they didn't try to replicate the the Sam Raimi Spiderman movies favoring instead to do their own thing. And Homecoming confirms the wise-ness of that decision. Yep, this movie makes up yet another winner in the MCU stable.
Much has been said about how this is the first post-Endgame movie in the MCU and how the effects of it are being felt in-universe but for me the real treat is how this movie is steadfast in doing it's own thing with Spiderman and is doing things differently. It's great to see familiar situations discarded in favor of going in a different direction (personally you can only see Peter Parker whinge about his girl troubles and his absurd lengths to protect his identity before it gets reeaaaalllllllllll tiresome). And Mysterio is made into a character that can work.
All in all a superb movie and it would be interesting to see what happens next with this incarnation of Spidey (especially considering the mid and post credit sequences).

Avengers Endgame

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....Avengers Endgame!

Original image located here. Accessed 3rd May 2019

I think we all know the drill by now: Anyone who has seen this movie is being tight-lipped about it. So much so that they will come down on anyone who gives away plot details like a tonne of bricks. I've previously viewed that seeing a particular movie can seem like a secret handshake but this is another level entirely.

So in the spirit of this, let me say one thing: After eleven years and twenty-one movies i expected nothing less than a triumph - and that's exactly what i got

Stan and Ollie

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....Stan and Ollie!

Original image located here. Accessed 5th April 2019

Once again, I see John C Reilly in a biopic. The difference here however is whilst Walk Hard was a parody, this however is done serious.
I can't say I know a lot about about Laurel (Stan) and Hardy (Ollie) beyond their status as legendary comedians and Hardy's catchphrase ("This is another fine mess..."). But i was curious about this movie because I heard some good things about it.

And you know what? I'm glad I did.
As mentioned above, i know next to nothing of Laurel and Hardy's comedy routines but I was impressed to see this routines replicated. Even more impressive is that i found routines nearly a hundred years old really funny.

But ultimately, the weight of this movie lies on the shoulders of Steve Coogan and John C Reilly as they recreate Laurel and Hardy with freakish accuracy, you'd swear you were watching the real thing.
However the humour and and recreation does not hide that this is a bittersweet movie about a partnership that's at the end of the line. That sense of finality does hang throughout this movie and certainly gives it an emotional punch.

So yeah, great movie and one of the best I've seen so far this year (meaning Endgame has it's work cut out for it)